Great day in the morning! Brent Porche here, and in honor of Pierre Robert‘s birthday today (August 1st) I want to share a few memories with our favorite “Good Citizen.”
As a kid, my family and I would listen to all sorts of radio on the dial, primarily oldies and doo-wop. Every so often, we would land on 93.3 on the FM dial and hear a familiar voice: Pierre Robert.
After years of listening to him play music and share stories with Philadelphia, I grew fond of what he did and how he did it. By the time I got to high school, I was starting to think about what I wanted to do with my life.
Instead of pursuing radio right away, I leaned into studying to become a marine biologist. I didn’t do so hot when it came to the report cards, taking all kinds of science and math classes my junior and senior year. Directly across the hall from my physics class was my high school television studio.
True story: One day, I walked into the studio and spoke with the teacher Dr. Benton. I told him that I was going to be on the radio one day. Since that day, my focus shifted to media, in particular radio. There was just something about music that really drew my attention. Pierre Robert had a lot to do with that.
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His passion for everything he says and does on the air is and was incredibly captivating to me. So, by the time freshman year of college was here, I had already declared to be a communications major with a focus in broadcasting. Four and a half years later, with a degree in my hand, and the world was my oyster, I was ready to go – or so I had thought.
Fast forward to 2003, when Fuel just released their album Natural Selection, and they were doing a free, outdoor concert in the parking lot of the Best Buy in Deptford, NJ. Some friends and I attended the event, and that’s where I first met Pierre Robert in person.
After the performance, the huge crowd waited to get autographs from Fuel. I saw Pierre off in the distance and shouted, “You Rock, Pierre!”
He heard me and proceeded to comb his way through the massive crowd to come find whoever said that. He walked right over to me to shake my hand and say, “Thank You, Good Citizen!” It was an incredibly kind gesture and something that has resonated with me ever since.
When I met Pierre again, it was at WMMR Spring Break in 2005 at the Liacouras Center on Temple University’s campus. The picture below is from almost a year to the day before I was hired as a DJ on WMMR, where I have been on air for the past 18 years.
Since then, Pierre Robert and I have been on many adventures together. A few of them are highlighted below.
Pierre has been on the airwaves in Philadelphia for over 40 years now, and we’re so lucky to have him in our city and at WMMR. And – if you’d like to give Pierre a free birthday gift – give him a follow on his new Instagram.
Happy Birthday, Pierre Robert!
